Killjoys: Bulletproof Hearts
by Inkb100d
Summary: Jenny is an ex-employee of Better Living Industries, fleeing her old life to live in the Zones.  A chance encounter with a band of Killjoys jump-starts her new life, but her past will not give her up so easily, and in the end, nothing will be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Life is a Highway/California's Worst Driver**

_ Check, check, and we are rolling! Welcome back to the never-ending story Motorbabies! You're chilling with me, Dr. Death Defying. Now I suggest you buckle down and listen up, 'cause do I have a story for you! But first, some housekeeping: if Danger Detonator is listening right now, you still owe me for that SOAD merch I sent your way last month. Just 'cause I'm in a chair don't mean I won't kick your trigger-happy ass halfway to Djibouti! _

_ Anyways, enough of that! These are the days when legends are made, and these are the airwaves that carry them straight to your rock n' roll brains! What I have for you tonight will make you laugh, make you cry, make you go all shades of goddamn insane! This is a story about a girl and a boy...and some other boys...and a couple of other girls...and some people I'm not totally sure about... Sit back and relax, 'cause Dr. D is bringing you dinner tonight, and we're serving up an appetizer of dissatisfaction, some rage to drink, and an entree of ass-kicking, with just a hint of sweet romance. Nothing's over 'till it's over, and once my tale is through, I want each and every one of you to join with me in making a joyful noise unto the bastards of Battery City! I want our voices to ring from Zone 6 to the Great Beyond! But first, gimme your ears Killjoys...this one's for the ages!_

"Woohoooooooooooooooo!"

Jenny screamed with elation as her car roared through the desert. For the first time in her life, there was nothing holding her back. No job, no medication, no boyfriend...if he could even be called that...nothing. She was _free_, as free as the wind that roared past the pristine white, box-shaped vehicle. Perhaps not the most practical choice for an off-road trip, but all the cars driven by Better Living Industries' employees were pretty well the same. Small, uniform, boring..._kind of like the people who drive them_, Jenny thought. Well, starting today she wasn't going to be one of those people. At long last, she was taking control of her life.

She switched on the radio, and after adjusting the dial for a moment, a low hum filled the car, and a deep male voice flooded out of her speakers.

"Look alive, sunshine." Jenny almost jumped with shock. There was no mistaking that voice. "109 in the sky, but the pigs won't quit! You're here with me, Dr. Death Defying." Jenny's eyes widened. Unbelievable! The enigmatic pirate radio DJ was the most wanted man in the Zones, and here she was, listening to one of his infamous broadcasts. It was like something out of a withdrawal-induced dream...but she wasn't dreaming. This was the real thing. "I'll be your surgeon, your proctor, your helicopter; pumping out the slaughtermatic sounds to keep you live! A system failure for the masses! Antimatter for the master plan! Louder than God's revolver, and twice as shiny!" Her heart racing with excitement, Jenny couldn't help but feel that he was speaking directly to her, as if he had been waiting for her all this time. "This one's for all you rock n' rollers, all you crash queens and motorbabies. Listen up! The future is bulletproof! The aftermath is secondary! It's time to do it now and do it loud! Killjoys, make some noise!"

Following his speech, the car was filled with a kind of noise that Jenny hadn't heard in years: music was blasting out of the speakers. Jenny clenched the steering wheel as adrenaline coursed through her body. She didn't know the song, but she tapped her fingers to the beat anyways. She would learn the song, she told herself. She would learn how to live in the wastelands, free of the oppression and monotony of Battery City. She would learn how to be an outlaw, a fighter, a badass. Anything was possible now. As long as she was free...

She was so caught up in her own ecstatic thoughts that she failed to notice that she was crossing a highway...a highway with a car on it. Which she promptly proceeded to T-bone with an ear-shattering BANG!

She yelped in pain as he head jerked back into the headrest, but the extensive safety measures built into the car protected her from any serious harm. However, she did have to wait a few moments for her head to stop spinning and for the ringing in her ears to die down. This was _not _the welcome to her new life that she'd been expecting. Once she was relatively sure she was unharmed, she struggled out of the damaged car. She stumbled a few steps, and sat down on the ground beside the crash, still dizzy, and very confused. _Who the hell is driving out here_?

As if to answer her question, a tall man emerged from the other car. He was the most strangely-dressed man Jenny had ever seen. He was dressed mainly in black, noticeably sporting a somewhat dusty leather jacket, and his long hair was dishevelled to an amazing extent. A large pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses hid his eyes, and a red bandana covered the lower half of his face...and he was pointing a laser gun at her head.

"What the hell were you doing?" he roared. "Learn how to fucking drive!" Jenny quickly crawled behind her smashed vehicle. "Hey! Get back here! I'm talking to you! Holy shit...you completely smashed up my ride! I still had, like, three payments on that!" The strange man paused for a moment, only to cry out a second later, and rush back to his own car. Jenny stood up, staring curiously after him. After a brief struggle, he forced the trunk of the car open, and breathed a loud sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. She's okay." This statement made no sense whatsoever to Jenny, but she was distracted by the two other men who were getting out of the car.

"You're such a moron!" yelled one of them, another tall man with shorter, jet-black hair, who was dressed in blue and grey with a black vest. It took her a moment to figure out that the comment was directed at the abrasive man behind the wrecked car. "Why don't you just leave it at home? You don't see me carrying my sword around all the time!" The man in blue then came towards her, gun in hand, but unlike the other man, he didn't point it at her. Rather, he held it cautiously as he approached. At first, Jenny thought there was something wrong with his eyes, but a second look revealed that he was wearing goggles with red-tinted lenses.

The third man quickly joined the second. His skin was much darker, and he sported a worn brown jacket and perfectly circular sunglasses. He also had his gun drawn, and pointed it towards her much as the first man had. Jenny took an involuntary step backwards. What had she gotten herself into?

"Hey, are you okay?" asked the man in blue. Jenny blinked, surprised. "Don't be scared. We won't hurt you."

"I might!" growled the first man.

"Will you shut up?" the man in blue snapped. He then turned back to her. "Ignore him. He's an idiot." He holstered his gun. "What are you doing out here? What's your name?"

"I...I'm Jenny," she stammered out. At least she had a good answer to that question. As for the other... "Um...are you...are you Killjoys?" As the words left her mouth, it occurred to her that she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted the answer to be. The man in brown put away his gun and smiled, but Jenny got the distinct impression that he was rolling his eyes at her behind his sunglasses.

"No," he said. "We're Robin Hood's Merry Men." Seeing Jenny's uncomprehending expression, he sighed dramatically. "Of course we're Killjoys!"

Killjoys. Outlaws. Terrorists. As an employee (_ex-employee_, she reminded herself) of Better Living Industries, she knew all about them; loosely connected bands of thieves and guerrilla fighters who roamed the wasteland, watched over by Dr. Death Defying and his mysterious messengers. They were the sworn enemies of BL/ind, the entire reason that the barely-human Exterminators existed, and as a result, the citizens of Battery City were taught to fear and revile them.

The first man came to join the other two, muttering angrily to himself.

"The car's toast. I don't know about you guys, but I sure as hell don't want to walk back home." He took his sunglasses off, and locked his eyes on Jenny. "What the hell are you doing out here, especially driving a BL/ind company car? You sure don't look like an Exterminator to me."

"I'm not!" Jenny insisted. "I'm just...I..." Speech had suddenly become unattainable for her. She couldn't even think! But she knew she had to; these people, these Killjoys, they were almost certainly dangerous. She had to think of something!

"Well, spit it out!" he snapped. Jenny flinched, as though his frustration was a physical blow, and got the distinct and horrifying feeling that she was about to cry.

"Leave her alone for a second!" the man in blue rebuked him. He turned back to Jenny and smiled reassuringly. Empowered by that smile, and flooded with momentary, fleeting confidence, Jenny spoke up.

"I...left," she said. Not quite the confident response she'd wanted, but the words in her head were quite separate from the words that made it to her mouth. "I just left. I..." She was suddenly struck by the absurdity of her situation. "Look, I'm really sorry about...oh God, this is so stupid...I'm so, so sorry that I hit you guys. I didn't think anyone would be driving around out here."

"You're...new here, aren't you?" the man in blue said, stating the obvious. He sighed. "You're not in Battery City anymore, Dorothy."

"My name's Jenny," she said, confused. The man in blue sighed again, rubbing his forehead.

"I say we shoot her," the first man said. The man in blue shot him a look. "What? She's probably an agent or something! No one's stupid enough to try an escape with a BL/ind company car!"

"Why not?" Jenny asked. "It's not like I had another one to use!"

"Did you at least disable the tracking device?" the man in blue asked. Jenny's heart skipped a beat.

"They have tracking devices?" A long silence followed her words.

"We should probably get out of here," the first man said.

"How?" the man in blue protested. "I thought the car was totalled."

"It is. Looks like we're walking home." The first man's statement was met with a chorus of groans from the other two. "Well do either of you have a better idea? Didn't think so!"

"What about her?" the man in blue asked, indicating Jenny.

"Who cares?" the first man retorted dismissively. "Come on, let's get moving."

"We can't just leave her here!" the man in blue protested. "If they send Draculoids after her..." Jenny's eyes widened and she was sure she felt her heart stop. Draculoid was just another word for Exterminator. Would they really send Exterminators after her? What was the point? She was no one to BL/ind, to anyone! That was the whole reason she'd left in the first place!

"Not our problem," the first man said. "Besides, she did wreck our car."

"We've got another one!"

"We've got a _broken_ one!"

"We should take her with us," the man in blue insisted.

"Over my smoking carcass!"

"But she'll never survive alone out here!" he pleaded.

Throughout this exchange, the man in brown said nothing, but Jenny was certain that he was looking her over, examining her, and something inside her cringed at the thought. After a moment, he approached her, and she suddenly saw that his sunglasses had holographic smiley faces in each lens, which, for some reason, made her skin crawl.

"May I see your hand?" he asked. Jenny blinked in surprise.

"What?"

"Your hand. Could I see it for a moment please?"

"My...hand?" With an irritated sigh, the man grabbed her hand and held it up to his face, twisting her fingers slightly.

"Hey!" Jenny snatched her hand back. "What the hell?"

"Good enough," he said cryptically. He then turned to the other two men. "I agree with Vamp. Let's take her with us, at least for a little while. She's no Exterminator."

"How can you be sure?" the first man demanded.

"How can you tell that from my hand?" Jenny asked at the same time. The man in brown grinned.

"First off, your fingernails. You bite them. Nail-biting is a sign of anxiety, and everyone in Battery City has access to sedatives and other medications on a daily basis. Therefore, you're off your meds, and probably have been for some time. Second, I can tell from your knuckles that you haven't had any hand-to-hand training, so you're probably not an Exterminator." He turned back to the first man. "So, elementary my dear Danger."

"You're outvoted," the man in blue (Vamp?) pointed out smugly. The first man glared at him, and told him to shut up.

"Danger?" Jenny asked quizzically.

"Yeah, that's my name," said the first man.

"Your name is Danger?"

"Yep. Danger Detonator, at your service," he said with a certain degree of pride. Despite the circumstances, Jenny almost chuckled.

"Is that your real name?"

"It's more real than the one my parents gave me." The man...Danger Detonator...put his sunglasses back on. "We should get moving. If you're coming, then you'd better keep up, 'cause I'm not slowing down for you."

"At least we weren't carrying much," the man in brown said. He then turned to Jenny, and said like an afterthought: "I'm Desert Wind by the way."

"And you are...?" Jenny asked the man in blue. He smiled again in his comforting way.

"My name is Memory Vampire," he said. The two of them started to walk east, away from Battery City, away from Jenny's entire life.

"Wait!" Danger Detonator cried after them. He ran back to his wrecked car, and almost dove into the trunk. He emerged with a guitar case strapped to his back. "Okay," he said. "Now we can go."

After half an hour of walking, Jenny was already beginning to question her decision. Outside of Battery City's protective atmosphere, the desert sun beat down on her hellishly. And she was _sweating_! That was unheard of in the City! She was certain that she smelled disgusting.

"Um...Memory Vampire?" she asked. He was the only one of the three Killjoys that didn't scare her. She was absolutely certain that Danger Detonator, who seemed to be their leader, didn't like her at all, and Desert Wind was just unnerving. "How far do we have to go?"

"You can call me Vamp if you want," he told her. "And home is in Zone Four, so..." A look of concern came over his face. "This isn't gonna work."

"I know!" Jenny protested. "We'll never make it!"

"Especially not if there are Dracs on our tail," he said grimly. He nudged Danger Detonator. "Hey, you've got a plan, right?"

"Two, actually," he said. "Plan A is to keep walking until we run into some more Killjoys, and see if we can get a ride home. Plan B is to head for the Bunker."

"Bunker?" Jenny asked.

"There's some kind of underground shelter not far from here," Memory Vampire replied. "We don't know what it is, but we use it as a place to hide from Exterminator patrols when we're close to the city. We've got supplies and stuff there, so we can definitely hide out there for a while."

"It's weird that we're still alive," Desert Wind commented. He was answered with three confused looks. "I mean, we're walking. The Dracs have cars. Why's it taking so long for them to catch up to us?"

"Don't jinx it," Danger Detonator muttered darkly. The group continued to trudge onwards, the sun beating down on their necks.

After a few more minutes of walking, Jenny felt close to collapse. The view before her eyes had not changed, and the horizon seemed no closer. The world was swimming before her eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?" Memory Vampire asked her, putting a steadying hand on her arm as she wavered. "Here," he said, offering her his bottle of water. "You can't let yourself get dehydrated out here." She took the bottle and took a long drink, and though the water was warm from the sun, to her it seemed as cold as a glacier and as refreshing as liquid heaven. She tried to hand the bottle back to him, but he refused it. "You need it more than I do," he insisted, and she appreciated the gift as the road began to climb.

Suddenly, a figure emerged atop the hill before them, moving closer at a swift pace. As the figure approached, Jenny saw that it was wearing roller skates, and its face was obscured by a blue motorcycle helmet adorned with white polka dots. The pattern was inverted on the figure's tights, and it wore a shirt with NOISE written in large letters across the front.

"Huh? What's Show Pony doing out here?" Danger Detonator wondered.

"Show Pony?" Jenny asked. "Is he...she...is Show Pony another Killjoy?"

"Not exactly," Memory Vampire said with a smile. "He...I think it's a he anyways...he's kind of like Dr. Death Defying's personal assistant. He's like a messenger, runs errands, that kind of thing. Talkative guy."

"Talkative?" Jenny questioned. She had a feeling that he was being sarcastic, but wasn't totally sure. As they finished talking, Show Pony arrived, sliding to a graceful stop right in front of them. He handed a sloppily-folded note to Danger Detonator, accepted high-fives from Memory Vampire and Desert Wind, and began to skate away without saying a word.

"Thanks man!" Danger Detonator called after him. He opened the note, and read it aloud. "Dear Tumbleweeds: Dracs are crawling all over the crash. Head for someplace safe. They're coming. Dr. D." He crumpled up the paper and threw it to the ground angrily. "Shit."

"Well, at least we know where we're going," Desert Wind offered.

"How far away is the bunker?" Jenny asked as the group climbed to the top of the hill. Memory Vampire pointed further along the road, now visible due to their higher vantage point.

"See that signpost up the road? We get off the highway there, and walk north for about fifteen minutes. There's a hatch in the ground, right in the middle of nowhere."

"And I suggest we pick up the pace!" Danger Detonator said. "Let's move!"

Unbeknownst to the Killjoys, a hunting party of Draculoids was scarcely ten minutes behind them, masked and dressed in monochrome white suits, and seemingly unaffected by the heat. In fact, it was only the slightly uneven terrain that had kept the Draculoids from spotting their prey. As they climbed the very same hill that the Killjoys had, their leader noticed something lying on the road. He bent over and picked it up; it was a small crumpled note which he quickly read. Looking up, he scanned the surrounding area with a pair of electronic binoculars...and his search was rewarded: a little ways up the road, four sets of footprints led off the highway. He smiled beneath the horrifying vampire mask that gave the Draculoids their name. The Killjoys would die never knowing what had hit them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**The Ongoing History of the End of the World**

Battery Towers was the epicentre of Better Living Industries, indeed the very heart of Battery City. It overshadowed everything around it, which is exactly what it was intended to do. A parent towers over its child. The child learns to fear and respect the parent. The child obeys. A corporate office towers over a factory. The workers learn that the power lies within the office. The workers obey. The President is raised over his people on a stage. The people worship him in awe. The people obey.

From the window of her office at the very top of the tower, Eri could see across the entire city, and even into the borderland between it and the slums of Zone One. The view was a luxury her status afforded her; she was the president and CEO of BL/ind, and as such was almost singularly responsible for the salvation of humanity...or so she told herself. Under _her_ leadership, BL/ind had become one of the largest corporations in the world before the Fires of 2012. It was _her_ alone who had taken the initiative to step in and take charge of the survivors. And with _her_ guidance, human civilization would be rebuilt better and stronger than ever before.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an electronic tone. She sighed sharply.

"Come," she instructed loudly. The door to her office slid open, barely making a sound, and Korse, head of the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Division, and possibly Eri's least favourite thing on the planet, walked in. "Your report, Mr. Korse?" she said, not even turning to look at him.

"Of course Eri-sama," he replied in the horrible voice that even the strongest anti-REM drugs couldn't keep out of her dreams. "As you know, the Subject is travelling with three Undesirables. They had left the scene before my Exterminators arrived to detain them."

"Killjoys," Eri hissed, as though the word was a particularly foul profanity.

"The team is, of course, in pursuit," Korse continued. Eri turned away from the window, and regarded him coldly.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. I understand that they're proceeding on foot. Would you care to explain the logic behind that decision?"

"I wasn't aware that my command decisions required your approval, Eri-sama," Korse said with flagrantly false innocence. Eri's eyes narrowed, but she forced herself to maintain her composure.

"Mr. Korse, I allow you to operate with relative autonomy because I believe that it maximises the efficiency of the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Division. However, this does not mean that I will allow you to do whatever you want with company property. Your Exterminators, I remind you, are company property. I want to know why you didn't order a vehicular pursuit, eliminate the Undesirables, and bring back my Subject."

"Of course, Eri-sama," Korse said with a predatory smile. "I believe that there is a high probability that the Undesirables in question will lead us to more of their kind, perhaps even a residence of sorts. This could be a valuable opportunity to eliminate a number of Undesirables with minimal effort...and minimal cost."

"That was not your assignment," Eri told him sternly. "The Subject is of vital importance to the future of this company!"

"Eri-sama," Korse said patronizingly, "you are responsible for running this company, and you do an admirable job. I am responsible for sanitizing Battery City and the surrounding Zones. That means that my job is to kill as many Undesirables as possible." He came close to her, far too close for her liking, and she was infinitely grateful that her desk kept him away from her, as though it were a shield. "You have your grandiose visions of the future, Eri-sama. And I am the tool you use to achieve those visions. I know this. But if you want me to be the means to your ends, I will do so as I see fit. Agreed?"

Eri felt her stomach churning. She wanted to reach out her hands and strangle him, that freak who dared to command her. But she willed herself to remain calm, willed her heart to slow back to its normal, medically-regulated rhythm. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and when she opened them again, she made sure that they were hard as diamonds.

"Order your team to engage the Undesirables and bring the Subject back to the City," she instructed coldly. For an instant that felt like an eternity, Korse said nothing. He simply stared into her eyes without a trace of expression. Though his face betrayed no emotion, Eri could feel the challenge in his silence. But after that moment, Korse smiled, and backed away.

"Yes Eri-sama," he said. He turned to leave, but spurred on by a sudden flare of courage, Eri called after him.

"And Mr. Korse?" He stopped, and turned to face her. She smiled darkly. "I think I shall schedule a diagnostic of your restoration chamber today. I'm afraid you will be unable to use it." Korse's face remained frozen, expressionless, but Eri could feel his simmering rage. Then, without a word, he swiftly turned and stalked out of the room.

"Move!" Danger roared, twisting around to fire off a few quick shots at the attacking Exterminators without breaking his stride. Jenny needed no prompting; she ran in blind panic, desperately trying to keep pace with Memory, who turned his head every few seconds to check that she was still with him.

"Almost there!" Desert called out, leading the way. "Any second now – " He promptly tripped, and fell flat on his face. "Found it!"

"Punch in the code!" Desert yelled. "Vamp, do a Syria, now!" Memory abruptly stopped, and pivoted 180 degrees, pulling a laser gun from his belt. Danger stopped beside him and spun around, so that they were both facing their attackers. They fired relentlessly into the Draculoids until most had either been eliminated or had dove for cover in a manner quite unbecoming of elite Exterminators.

Meanwhile, Jenny was crouched beside the Bunker's hatch, which was pitted and dust-covered, but otherwise seemed in perfect condition. Desert's finger hovered over a small keypad on the hatch door, with a hesitant expression on his face. Jenny's stomach flipped.

"What, don't you know the combination?" she asked, trying to keep the hysterical edge out of her voice.

"Could you kindly shut up a moment?" he responded absently, and Jenny couldn't help an entire legion of panicked thoughts from invading her mind. _I'm going to die. I can't believe it. I'm going to die. _

Memory and Danger ran towards the hatch, taking cover behind a large boulder. The Draculoids were advancing again, but not en masse like before. Instead, they sprinted from cover to cover in pairs or threes, and laid down cover fire for the groups that followed.

"Have you noticed?" Memory commented, ducking a laser shot that splintered the rock above his head. "They're only shooting as the two of us."

"We're the only ones shooting at_ them_!" Danger pointed out. He stood up to return fire, but crouched back down immediately as the Draculoid's fire came ever closer.

"Yeah, but Desert and the girl are easier targets," Memory said.

"So?"

"I dunno, maybe they want the girl alive," Memory suggested.

"And this helps us...how?" Danger peeked out from the side of the boulder and fired off three shots. "Got one!"

"It doesn't really," Memory admitted. "But I think I know something that might."

"Grenades?" Memory nodded. "I think I left them in the car."

"You _what_?" Danger grinned sheepishly. "Oh goddamn it!" Suddenly, a small black object landed on the ground beside them, an object that looked curiously similar to a...

"Oh shi –" was all Danger managed to get out before the stun grenade activated. They fell to the ground, thoroughly incapacitated.

The Draculoids began to advance on Desert and Jenny. With an irritated groan, Desert pulled a laser pistol out of his jacket and handed it to Jenny.

"Here. Point and shoot. I'm gonna need a minute." Jenny blanched. She'd never even held a gun before!

"What? But...but I can't...!" The Draculoids were almost on top of them.

"Shoot goddamn it!" Desert barked, and Jenny, spurred on more by panic than anything else, began to fire wildly at the advancing Exterminators. They dove for cover to evade her erratic shots, but she failed to hit even a single one. All of a sudden, before Jenny even had a chance to flinch, one of the Draculoids shot the gun right out of her hand. All she could do was stare in awe as he approached. He pointed his gun at her head and...

_ Just a second there Killjoys, we've got a call coming in. Who am I talking to?_

_ "Hey Dr. D! It's me, Delegate Zed."_

_ Hey Zed, what's your problem?_

_ "Not my problem, man. Just calling in to let everyone know that there's a Drac patrol coming through Zone Six, so everyone keep your eyes open."_

_ Well thank you very much for the heads-up my man. They sure are stepping up patrols lately, aren't they?_

_ "Yeah, everyone's feeling the pinch. It's really weird, but I almost miss the old days. I mean, I know it was still dangerous, and I know we still had to hide and everything, and I know it flat-out sucked sometimes, but...I dunno, I just feel like those were still the _days_, man. _

_ I know just what you mean, man. Those were the days. The danger days. Well, I'm gonna have to let you go now man. Thanks again, and keep your boots tight!_

_ "I will man, and thanks for sticking around. We all really appreciate what you do for us."_

_ Well, I dunno how much I do myself... Anyways, thanks for bearing with me Killjoys. Now, back to Jenny and the boys!_

"Come with me," the Draculoid said, words which Jenny's fear-stricken brain could barely process. _I'm going to die,_ she thought. _I'm going to die. I'm going to die._

But then, a succession of small miracles occurred.

First, having recovered from the effects of the stun grenade, Danger raised his gun and shot the Draculoid straight through the head.

Second, at almost that exact second, Desert's eyes widened as he remembered the pass code, which he frantically keyed into the panel on the hatch, causing it to spring open. The raised hatch then became a small shield separating Desert and Jenny from the rest of the Exterminators, who were now charging forwards.

"Get inside!" Desert yelled, and Jenny needed no further prompting. She dropped into the darkened pit, thankfully managing to grab the ladder that lined the side, and climbed down into the pitch darkness resulting from her unadjusted eyes. Initially, this was just as disorienting and frightening for her as the Draculoid attack had been, and she began to hyperventilate as she spun around, desperately looking for anything at all that she could see. However, Desert was right behind her, and as soon as he reached the bottom, he clapped his hands twice and the Bunker was suddenly filled with light. It was considerably smaller than Jenny had expected, only about half the size of Jenny's apartment, but she noted that each wall was adorned with either shelves of provisions or bunk beds...although one also had "Fuck the BL/ind!" spray-painted on it in acid green.

Back on the surface, Danger and Memory locked eyes.

"Iraq?" Danger asked him.

"Iraq," Memory agreed. The two then sprinted to the hatch, screaming at the top of their lungs and firing at the already puzzled Draculoids. The third miracle was that this bizarre tactic was actually quite effective, allowing them to fell several more of their assailants before they scurried into the Bunker. Danger was the last to descend, pulling the door closed above his head. As it closed, there was an audible click, signalling that it was now locked from the inside. The Killjoys were safe...for the moment.

For a few seconds, the only sound was the heavy breathing of the five occupants of the Bunker as they tried to calm their racing hearts. Danger was the first to speak up.

"Well, I vote that we _never_ do that again!"

"Are you all right?" Memory asked Jenny, to which she nodded rather unconvincingly.

"Yeah, it's just...I can't believe...I'm so sorry about all this."

"This isn't your fault," Memory insisted.

"Technically," Desert jumped in, "it kind of is." Memory glared at him. "What? I'm just saying!"

"In any case," Danger said, sitting down on one of the bunk beds, "I think it's about time you told us what the hell you're doing out here in the first place. I'd bet you haven't spend a day of your life outside the city before now, and I sure as hell didn't plan on starting a career as a babysitter when I got up this morning! I think we're entitled to some answers."

"Oh back off!" Memory snapped, but Jenny shook her head.

"No, he's right. I...this is my fault. And you guys saved my life. The least I can do is explain why. But...it's kind of a long story."

"Those Dracs aren't going to just go away," Desert said. "We probably scared the crap out of them, but that probably means they're calling for backup right now. We're not going anywhere."

"All right then," Jenny said, sitting down on a black swivel-chair that rested beside a desk. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, realizing for the first time how incredible this all seemed. Re-tracing the chain of events that had led her to this moment only served to make it harder to believe that they had happened at all. "This whole thing started about a month ago..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Excessive Exposition (Jenny's Story)**

"I used to work for BL/ind," Jenny began. "Okay, that doesn't say much; everyone in Battery City works for BL/ind in one way or another. No matter what you do, sooner or later it traces back to them. But I guess that's not really important, is it?

What I meant is that I worked for the actual company. I'm a psychiatrist. I worked in the R&D department doing stuff related to what they call Public Psychological Security – which means I was responsible for helping them make better drugs for the citizens. You know, emotion inhibitors, pleasure pills, that kind of thing. I never really questioned what I was doing. I guess that was mainly because of my own drugs. It's not like employees get a special deal; everyone in Battery City is on medication every day. I never questioned that either, which was also because of the drugs. It's ingenious really, the way we did that: there isn't any one drug that makes you stop questioning things. It's the combination of all of them. The emotion inhibitors stop you from caring enough to question anything, and if that fails, you're too addicted to the pleasure pills, and you _won't_ question anything. You're too scared they'll stop selling them to you. The really freaky thing, though, is that no one _has_ to take the meds. Everyone chooses to of their own free will, just because everyone else is doing it. I...I helped them exploit that. I gave them the idea to step up advertising. Even though everyone would take the meds regardless, they're happier to do it if they think they have a choice."

"That's fucked up," Danger muttered. Memory shot him a look. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna lie. That is royally fucked up in so many ways."

"Yeah," Jenny agreed. "But I never thought what I was doing was wrong. It was just...it was my job."

"You don't have to justify yourself to us," Desert told her, almost disinterestedly, which earned him a look from Memory as well.

"Sorry," Jenny continued. "But...never mind. Where was I? Right, sorry. Um...yeah, so that was my job.

Recently, the higher-ups had been creating more and more initiatives that required the psych people and the tech people to work side by side. I'd been working alongside a woman from tech for a while, since we were both considered the best in our fields, and we'd almost become something like friends...and that's rare in Battery City. At first, I thought she was kind of strange, but after a while, I realized that she wasn't being strange at all...she was being _emotional_! She was off her meds!

We never talked about it, but I'm sure she knew I knew. Maybe she was too scared to bring it up. I know I was; we were surrounded by security all the time. Everything we were working on was top-secret, but it wasn't the citizens they were scared of. It was you."

"Us?" Memory said quizzically. "You mean Killjoys?"

"Yeah. The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit sees Killjoys everywhere. They're terrified of people they can't control. But the citizens...we're like sheep to them. We're just consumers, workers, slaves. We're nothing to them.

Anyways, this next part is a little hard to explain. Remember, I never talked to Po...I never talked to my friend about going off the meds. I never talked to anyone like that, no one ever does. But...one morning, I just woke up and thought 'I don't want to take my meds today.' It was so weird...it wasn't like a normal thought at all, if that makes sense. It just came into my head exactly like that, like someone else had said it to me. But once the idea was in my head, I couldn't stop thinking it. And in the end, I went to work that day...without my meds, for the first time in my life.

I was terrified. I spent the whole day looking over my shoulder, totally convinced that everyone knew what I was doing. I felt...embarrassed. I felt ashamed. But what really scared me was when I got to work that morning, and my friend wasn't there. I asked about it...which I think was the first time I'd ever questioned anything in years...and they told me that she'd been transferred to another project. No matter who I asked, that was the only answer I ever got. That was a month ago, and I haven't seen her since then.

The second day was just as bad. It wasn't until I'd spent at over a week off the meds that I started to feel comfortable with it. But once I was off, everything changed. It was like a whole new world...and it scared the crap out of me.

I was seeing all kinds of things I'd never seen before. Like...I'd never thought that there was anything wrong with the City before, I mean in terms of architecture, but if you really look at it, it's all the same. Every building looks like every other building like it. The apartments all look alike, and so do all the office buildings, the stores...and all the clothes are the same too! I swear there isn't a single bright colour in the entire city!

And it's the people too! No one smiles in Battery City! And I never had a problem with it! My God...I honestly don't know if I've ever smiled since I was a child, not even once!" Jenny's voice was beginning to shake, and she dropped her eyes. The room seemed to spin around her. _How could I have gone all these years without smiling? How could I not know that something was wrong with me? With everyone? _

It was a few moments before she could speak again.

"I realized soon afterwards that they were on to me. I'm sure they knew something was off. They assigned a man to keep an eye on me, pretending he was my new co-worker. But...they wanted to know what I was doing twenty-four seven, so they had him act like...like he was trying to be my boyfriend or something."

"You've got those in Battery City?" Desert asked, a look of surprise on his face. "I thought you'd all had your emotions medicated into atrophy."

"They're phasing them out," Jenny told him. "Getting rid of interpersonal relationships is harder than you'd think. Trust me," she said darkly, "I've been trying for years." Her trained eyes couldn't help but note Memory's slight twitch at the mention of 'boyfriend.' _Interesting..._

"I managed to keep him at arm's length," she continued. "He didn't seem particularly dangerous, but I didn't know what he might've done if the higher-ups had told him to hurt me. And the longer I spent off my meds, the harder it became to act vapid and emotionless. I knew I had to get out sooner or later. I must've spent a week telling myself that I'd go tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...but I could never bring myself to do it. No matter how hard I willed myself to do it, I just couldn't. Battery City sucked, but at least I knew how to live there. At least I knew what I had to do to get by. Living in the Zones...it was just too much.

This morning, everyone was looking at me funny, and I mean _everyone_. I was so scared. And somehow I knew that this was it; if I didn't leave now, I never would. So I got back into my car, and I got the heck out of the city. Getting outside the city walls was easier than I'd thought it would be, but I had S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/Ws coming after me before I even made it out of the slums.

I'd never seen the slums up close before. God, those people...I just couldn't believe it! I'd been living in luxury my whole life while children were fighting over food right outside the wall! It was only thanks to those people that I got away; they made it hell for the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/Ws to get through. Once I was out, I didn't even head for the highway, I just kept going straight, even when the road ended. And...and I started driving really fast, and I turned on the radio, and he was there, Dr. Death Defying, and it was just like I'd always dreamed it would be. Then I ran into you guys," she concluded dryly.

"Yes, literally," Memory chuckled.

"So, how long are we gonna have to stay here?" Jenny inquired.

"Depends on when the Dracs leave," Danger told her. "Which depends on how much they want you back. I didn't get why they sent so many Exterminators after you at first, but if they think the stuff you were working on could be useful to us then they're not gonna leave anytime soon. We could be stuck here a while." He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing irritably.

"Interesting though," Desert mused. Memory looked at him quizzically. "The stuff about the medication," he clarified. "Particularly that it only took a few days for..." He trailed off, frowning slightly, and turned to Jenny expectantly.

"Oh! Of course," Jenny said, somewhat sheepishly. "My name's Jenny."

"Won't do at all," Desert muttered, but before she could ask him what he meant, he had launched back into his previous point. "Yes, it's especially interesting that it only took a few days for Jenny's emotions to return. If more people were to go off their meds..."

"But why would they?" Memory countered. "Anyone who goes against BL/ind will just get taken out. You'd have to get a whole bunch of people to all go off their meds, and then they'd need to spread the idea to everyone else. But even still, it's more likely that BL/ind would eliminate any kind of rebellion before it could take hold."

"I didn't say it would happen overnight," Desert retorted. "But all it would take is a few more people like Jenny." It occurred to Jenny that she didn't really care for the way he talked about her as though she wasn't there.

"I'm not saying the idea doesn't have potential. I'm just saying that BL/ind would hammer down anyone who sticks out." Desert would have replied, but the conversation was cut short by an electronically distorted voice declaring "I drink juice while I'm killing 'cause it's fucking delicious!" The proclamation was followed by the sound of heavy, fast guitars and unintelligible chanting blasting out from a music player that Danger was fiddling with. Memory shot him yet another irritated look.

"What? That's Mad Gear and the Missile Kid!" Danger protested.

"Well could you turn it down a little?" Memory requested with false patience. "We were trying to have a conversation." Grumbling, Danger obliged them, and fortunately too: an audible click echoed throughout the small room. The hatch had been unlocked.

Hissing curses, Danger switched off the music player, and all three Killjoys drew their guns. Desert and Danger cautiously approached the ladder, peering up at the hatch, while Memory stayed close to Jenny, protecting her from whatever was coming. Jenny's heart kicked into overdrive again. _No, no, stay away! Get away! Leave me alone!_ she silently begged her assailants, who were doubtless about to descend upon her like vultures. Suddenly, the desert sun spilled into the bunker as the hatch opened.

Jenny's racing heart jumped into her throat, and she couldn't help but flinch, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment and opening them again, as if the masked monsters could be dispelled like a bad dream. But no shots rang out. Instead, Danger's voice took their place.

"Well fucking finally! You took your sweet time getting here!" Memory and Jenny came in for a closer look; a painted fox mask was staring down at them. Its wearer answered in a chipper female voice.

"Nice to see you too, Danger. Charming, as always. Now come on, let's get out of here."

"What about the Draculoids?" Memory asked. The masked girl chuckled.

"What about them?"

"You know we're not exactly alone down here, right?" he went on.

"What do you mean?" the girl replied. "And can't we have this conversation up here?"

"We've got an escapee from the city with us, ex-BL/ind," Danger informed her.

"Ex-BL/ind? Nice," the girl said approvingly. "I guess your friend can come too. Now, get your asses up here! I'm your ride home tonight."


End file.
